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APA Award Winner 2005, 347 pages, 148 color plates, illustrated glossary of uniform terms, extensive indexes, large 9.5 inches by 13.5 inches page format

To read more about this remarkable book, and see actual sample plates, click on the page images below.

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Description:
During the summer armistice of the 1813 campaign, two German artists drew illustrations of the French troops stationed around Dresden and Freiberg in Saxony. The men depicted belonged to Emperor Napoleon's last Grande Armée, a colorful multinational force that included, among others, French, Dutch, Italian featuresand Polish soldiers.

These rare, exceptional paintings provide invaluable eyewitness evidence of the uniforms of the period, quite set apart from the sometimes fanciful, second-hand works of modern artists. Unlike many uniform plates, the illustrations in these two artists' portfolios show what Napoleon's men actually wore on campaign.

Nearly a century after they were first rendered, French historian and collector Gabriel Cottreau commissioned Charles Brun, one of the foremost artists of the era, to copy 98 of the original images from both portfolios. Sadly, many of the original uniform plates were later destroyed, lost, or disappeared into private collections.

NLGAquotes In 2000, some of the original plates resurfaced and permission to publish them, along with the 98 Brun copies, was obtained. We are extremely pleased to offer a book featuring nearly 148 uniform plates, including 50 original Freiberg plates, plus the entire Brun collection. This extraordinary publication includes new descriptive text in English by renowned uniformologist Alfred Umhey. Nearly every plate is presented at its full original size on heavy art paper along with the artist's original notes, translated for this edition.

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Awards & Reviews:
Response to Napoleon's Last Grande Armeé has been amazing. Below are some of awards & reviews this book has received.


About the Authorphoto:
Alfred Umhey served as curator of the German Army Museum at Rastatt from 1992-1995, where he gained international recognition for his expertise in uniformology. After two years as a manager for a militaria auction house, he became an independent consultant for museums and historical exhibitions. Umhey has assembled one of the finest collections of uniform illustrations in existence, consisting of more than 1400 volumes and 500,000 pictures. A distinguished reenactor, Umhey presided over the German Napoleonic Society for two years before becoming a founding member of the European Napoleonic Society, of which he is actively serving as press spokesman. Appointed as a Fellow of the International Napoléonic Society in 1997, Umhey is currently one of the principal authors of Tradition magazine and a member of the editorial committee of Soldats Napoléoniens.

Copyright © 2003 , Military History Press LLC. All rights reserved.